The Wilmingtonian., 1887-12-24


with such a hard world. Had it not beenfo
those two little children up stairs the icy
river would have soon closed her book of sor-
row.
She reached her room. The children were
fast asleep, and 2he lighted the lamp and sat
down by the little stove
''If we staJ've,n she said, ~ cannot work
tonight
By and BY mechanically she went about
and put the little room to rights, and hung
the children's worn clothing over the chair
back, and took the meat for the next days
dinner and supper from its bag The vege-
tables lay upon the table, with the apples
These she wiped softly and then sat down
again, looking at them in a dream. Sud
denly she gave a nervous little laugh, saying:
81 will 1t will amuse them at any rate"
Then she took knife and piece of kind
ling and in a little while cut it in small
sticks, and these she counted until she had
the number she needed, and set to work
She found the two potatoes adapted to her
plan, which was to make horses of them by
sticking four legs tail and two ears into
them. Treated the same way the two red
onions made rather awkward but pretty
colored cows, and the turnips became tiger
and the carrot an alligator.
These made quite little menagerie when
set upon the table in position to attract the
children's attention the first thing in the
morning, and red apple was thrust into
each well darned stocking and they were hung
upon the board which served for mantel-
piece.
Thus out of nothing mother love devised
bit of Christmas fer her little ones, and when
this was done, somehow her heart was
lighter and she blessed God for the inspira-
ton and that she had her children and
health, and thanked him while she lay down
beside the two pretty if pale children.
The noise of drums, trumpets and chill
dren's shouts in streets and hall walked the
children almost before daylight, and they
began to ask each other and their mother
what it was all about, and she told them that
it was Christmas, and lying then for once
idle during the daylight hours she told them
| all the sweet story and then they began to
wonder if Santa Claus had been to them, and
they bounced out of bed to see.
The apples were very rare and beautiful to
them, but the menagerie Of wonderful ami
mails surpassed anything they ever dreamed
of, and as the mother told them:
''You see, dears, they are nicer than any
wooden toy animals could be, for we can
play that they are real, truly animals ard
we can kill them and dress them and t
them all up into little bits and cook them Y
and by just as the butchers don
y
81 don't want my ollumgater cut up de
clared Robbie, stoutly. He was pacified, and
the children played contentedly all the morn.
ing with their animals, though it required the
constant service Of mamma to replace broker
legs, horns and tails, and the children die
smell ratf er strong Of onions; still they vert
happy and her heart lightened. But wher
the time came for the final part Of their play
nopbie would not allow single one of hi
precious ''ammuls" to he sacrificed, and a
last he became so obstreperOus that hi
mother was obliged to punish him by shutting
him into a good sized closet which ha
always stood between the chimney and tn
gable window. Robbie did not enjoy his in
prisonment and kicked and cried until h
made the very rafters ring, but suddenl
after rather more violent outbreak tina
usual there was silence, and his mothe
waited while. surprised at this new freal
and then she opened the door and looked il
There on the floor sat Robbie, with piec
of the Dashboard lying fiat, and disclosing
hole within which was tin box. This
was trying to pull out, but it seemed to
heavy for him to move, and soon Mrs Hicli
had it out and was examining it. When sh
had wiped off the dust he found painte
upon it in white letters "Owen Hardcastle
1t needed no more to take every bit {
strength she had and make her sink whit
and suffocating on the chair. This was he
grandfather's name What if this box col
tanned the money he was supposed to hay
hidden somewhere2 1t was heavy enougl
A moments reflection convinced her that,
she was the only living member of all Il
family, this box and its contents were her
and so with knife and piece of wood 81
pried it open and found even as she be
hoped. The box was full of gold, and al
contained several valuable diamonds, so th
this woman, who had the night before bet
on the verge of despair from poverty, al
who had had to make travesty of h
meager dinner to give her fatherless babies
little of the joy that Christmas brings, W
. lifted above want again